ImagiNations: the unknown regiments

People of a certain vintage will remember the unknown comic...

I just need to find a 28mm figure, preferably mounted, to represent the ruler of another state in our ImagiNation world...

And with no segue at all... two unknown cavalry regiments and an unknown commander ride out from the depots of the unknown ImagiNation state!

I painted these two units for my lovely daughter-in-law as a beginning for her unknown ImagiNation army. The unknown commander was a Xmas gift to her from Captain Dan and gave me the incentive to dig around in the various boxes of lead in the Trenton Gaming Emporium (and at home) to see what was available as a start to her unknown army. 

Cuirassiers from Crusader Miniatures (Russian perhaps?).

Orange coats were requested and delivered.

Dragoons from Crusader Miniatures (Austrian?).

Keeping with the orange theme but only in the facing colours for this unit, these are a plainer uniform as befits their lesser status (compared to the cuirassiers) and thus grey coats. The combination of blue and orange is quite striking.

Both regiments galloping to glory!

A nice start to the army and a solid addition to the cavalry contingents in the ImagiNation collection (looking eventually for massed waves of cavalry sweeping across the table... one can dream).

The commander vignette from the talented hands of Captain Dan. I have no idea of the provenance of these figures but it is an outstanding piece of work!

ImagiNations: Battle of Wolfsburg (Nov 18, 1747)

While the central powers of Gourmandie and KaiserReich (and their attendant and somewhat diminutive neighbours) have enjoyed a period of relative peace over the last year, Grand-Duke Pierre-Louis of Gourmandie, at the urging of his mercurial army commander, Jean Lafitte Roquefort, Marquis de Fromage, and in response to recent KaiserReich increases to the tariffs on grain shipments, moved a portion of the Gourmandie army into KaiserReich territory. The army's movements were intended merely to cow The KaiserReich Council of Twelve and KronPrinz Friedrich Wilhelm and force the reversion of the tariffs. Unbeknownst to the Marquis de Fromage, the Kronpronz himself was in the vicinity with the majority of the KaiserReich army and presented a serious obstacle. The Marquis, hot-headed and obstreperous, decided to push the issue and moved to take the strategic crossroads of Wolfsburg, west of the fortress of Marzberg. The Kronprinz calmly deployed his army around the environs of Wolfsburg and awaited the Marquis' advance...

Gourmandie army deployed on the left and KaiserReich to the right around the outskirts of Wolfsburg.

Ulanen Radeburger, deployed on the left flank of the KaiserReich army. They began the battle isolated beyond a river course crossable only at two points. To make matters worse, their infantry counterparts in the Freikorps Radeburger decided quite early on that this was not a good day to die and promptly shuffled off to find easier pickings amongst the local residents (i.e. a blunder had them exit the table).

KaiserReich infantry await the enemy advance.

Mercenary gunners from Libagioni man the heavy siege guns in the KaiserReich lines.

Kronprinz Frierich Wilhelm (second from the right) confers with his Chief of Staff, Baron Jenssen of Bisterstad. The Kronprinz's younger brother and his military tutor look on disinterestedly.

A local resident seeks salvation at a roadside shrine, in anticipation of the day's events.

KaiserReich fusilier regiments hold the center of the line, with grenadiers and heavy howitzers on their left.

KaiserReich heavy cavalry, encouraged by Reichsritter 

Hildebrandt Freytag, hold the right flank (Grenadiere zu Pferde Warsteiner & Pistoliere von Doppelbock).

Facing them are the three squadrons of the elite Grenadiers à Cheval Boursin, led by Georges leRoque, Comte de Boursin.

The Gourmandie guard & grenadier brigade prepare to advance. The Marquis has decided to not waste time. The elite infantry and heavy cavalry will both assault the KR left flank.

The respective lines of heavy cavalry, about to clash for supremacy of the flanks of the infantry lines.

As the cavalry melee commences on the Gourmandie left flank, the guards & grenadiers advance to engage the KR fusiliers.

KR fusiliers wheel to flank the Grenadiers de Champaigne (red coats with yellow facings) but the Chasseurs-Gardes (grey coats, green hat trim) arrive to support.

The Fusilier-Gardes push back the KR fusiliers and relieve the pressure on their grenadier brethren.

The Grenadiers de Camembert, having swept aside the defending heavy guns, are met with a ferocious charge from the Kronprinzs östlichen Kavallerieband. Yes, they are musicians... but scary musicians!!

The grenadiers are shaken but win the melee and the KR horse falls back, leaving a gap in the lines.

Even though the Oettinger Grenadiers have moved forward to hold the KaiserReich line, two KR battalions are now faced with four Gourmandie guard and grenadier battalions. Things are looking grave for the Kronprinz on this flank.

After several inconclusive back and forth charges and melees between the KR and Gourmandie heavy horse, the KR horse grenadiers were left isolated and shaken. Seeing their chance, the Dragons Grand-Duchesse galloped across the field and, despite their smaller numbers routed, their heavier opponents.

This left the KaiserReich right flank exposed to the five remaining Gourmandie cavalry squadrons. Admittedly, three of these were shaken but they had swept the entirety of the KR horse from the field. 

According to the Marquis' plan, the majority of the action had taken place on the Gourmandie left flank, where the Marquis had deployed the elite Gourmandie infantry and heavy cavalry. The Marquis had left his right flank anchored on his heavy guns, hoping this would be enough to fend off any KR attempts to turn that flank. The hope was realized, as the only serious attack came in the form of a disjointed move by cavalry of Freikorps Radeburger. The necessity of crossing the river before deploying made the KR attempts on this flank less than ideal. The Gourmandie heavy guns easily swatted away this attempt and no more of consequence occurred on the right flank.

As with many of our ImagiNation battles, the action was ultimately decided by the cavalry battles on the flanks. In fact, the close fight between the KR fusiliers and the Gourmandie guards and grenadiers was inconclusive and could have gone either way. Eventually, however, the Gourmandie victory in the cavalry battle threatened the integrity of the KR right flank and Kronprinz Friedrich Wilhelm was forced to concede the field. 

The KaiserReich commander must now pull his army back to the east and decide if this Gourmandie aggression will be avenged. But winter is coming...

ImagiNations: Kronprinzs östlichen Kavallerieband

The newest addition to the forces of His Highness, KronPrinz Friedrich Wilhelm trots onto the field. Recruited in the Eastern Reaches, these wild characters of the Kronprinzs östlichen Kavallerieband sport the traditional KaiserReich blue uniforms. Lest anyone think these are merely pansy musicians trying to impress with their cacophonous attempts at martial music... think again. They carry scimitars and pistols and thus have combat value in Black Powder!

Kronprinzs östlichen Kavallerieband

(Gringo40s)

New Kid on the Block...Saint Julien

At the risk of negatively affecting my current ImagiNations painting mojo  (which admittedly can be rather mercurial), I have decided to add another army to my ImagiNations collection. The KaiserReich and Libagioni armies are complete and the Gourmandie army will be in the same condition when the Chasseurs-Gardes de Gourmandie are completed soon ("hahahaha!! that's funny"... OK, stop laughing).

And so, introducing...

Saint Julien

Prince-Archbishop Clemens August of Saint-Julien (an uncle of Pierre Louis, Grand-Duc de Gourmandie) is the particularly wicked and malevolent leader of L'inquisition, an institution whose aim is to aggressively combat heresy in the Catholic faith (and, in fact, in all Christendom). He is Prince and Archbishop of Saint-Julien, Prince-Bishop of Koblenz, Bishop of the dioceses of Cologne, Aachen and Bonn, Grandmaster of the Bubonic Order, and Abbot of Stablo and Malmedy. Clemens August's regime is oppressive and tyrannical, wherein all decisions are centralized in the person of the Prince-Archbishop. He uses his position to communicate the true word of God, not only to his own nobles and peasantry but to the world at large, much to the chagrin of his neighbours (particularly his nephew). 

Saint Julien is lurking in the south-west corner of the map.

And the army begins its mobilization:

Four battalions of infantry, two squadrons of cavalry and two guns arrived in the training depots today.

And the Milices Bourgeoises Troisdorf ready themselves to receive their new uniforms.

how to avoid Imperial Guard syndrome... or not

I usually make a concerted effort in my collections to avoid building super units for as long as possible. As evidence, in my previous 28mm Napoleonic collection I waited until I had a couple of thousand normal, everyday figures before I added a couple of Imperial Guard brigades to my French army. In my WWII collecting over the last few years, the closest I've come is early war German Fallschirmjagers (and it's arguable whether FJs are super units). So, obviously not guilty of the Imperial Guard syndrome!

So it is that in my latest push to add more to the ImagiNations collection, I've finally attempted the first guard unit. As I've been focusing on Le Grand-Duché de Gourmandie (the plan is to effectively double the infantry contingent) and after the latest addition of the Grenadiers de Champaigne, I thought some guard might be appropriate. To guard against falling into the super unit hole, these guard are rated the same as the Grenadiers de Champaigne and the Grenadiers de Camembert (in fact, they are all in the same brigade). So, guard in name only... until they prove themselves on the field of battle.

Fusiliers-Gardes de Gourmandie

(Crusader Miniatures & GMB flag)

I had two battalions worth of these Crusader figures, originally slated to be painted as regular Gourmandie line infantry in red coats. But after the last red-coated battalion (Grenadiers de Champaigne), I swore I'd not do anymore red for this collection (red is notorious on my paint desk for causing much cursing and lamentation). So, another colour then... I chose to go the typical 18th century route and try a light grey. I'm quite happy with the choice, especially as the red trim pulls the unit into the Gourmandie red zone.

2e Artillerie de Gourmandie

To add to the growing power of Gourmandie, I've also added more heavy guns to the  army. Funny story with this one though (not funny - haha! ... but funny - doh!). I was halfway through painting these as KaiserReich artillerists when I pulled up a previous photo of my existing KR artillery for reference (the figures are temporarily stored in the Trenton Gaming Emporium, thus I was not able to look at them directly). I couldn't reconcile the half-painted figures in my hands with what already existed in the army. After some initial confusion, I realized that these are Gourmandie figures! Luckily, both armies' regular artillerists have blue coats and I was able to quickly change course. Of course, this meant that the previously planned KR artillery addition went to the Gourmandie army. So guards and heavy guns! (note: not seen here are the limbers and caisson also completed)

And so to add to the seemingly super unit list for Gourmandie, a sneak-peek at the Chasseurs-Gardes de Gourmandie (the first half anyway).... what can I say? Guilty!

Battle of Sulinger: June 11, 1746

As the summer begins in Finum Mundi, troop movements along the KaiserReich-St Julien border continue. After a small rebuff in his efforts to scout the small town of Sulinger (see Border Skirmish: Sulinger, April 30, 1746), El Duque had gathered substantial forces to push into Sulinger and make the first major inroads of the 1746 campaign. 

Facing the majority of the St Julien army were two small brigades of KaiserReich infantry and artillery. While El Duque had an advantage in numbers of units, all of the St Julien regiments were small (in Black Powder terms) and were facing full-strength KaiserReich infantry regiments (standard-sized in BP), supported by heavy artillery. The St Julien cavalry, although quite small in numbers, would prove a decisive advantage.

St Julien

(note: El Duque, suffering from an acute attack of piles, was not present at the battle)

KaiserReich

The town of Sulinger.

The KaiserReich initial deployment, anchored on the town of Sulinger. 

Grenadiere Oettinger, covering the left flank of the town and providing a reserve. Unfortunately, this fine regiment, by far the best on the field that day, saw little to no action.

KaiserReich heavy artillery deploy near Sulinger.

St Julien forces deploy to attack.

The first St Julien attack rolls in against the KaiserReich main line. The small size of the St Julien regiments can be seen here... and the flexibility of the St Julien cavalry. The KaiserReich army in Sulinger had no cavalry attached and, as the picture above shows, this would prove to be a serious liability.

Some time later (but not much later), the rightmost KaiserReich infantry regiment has been defeated and its now the turn of its neighbour. The manoeuvrability of the small St Julien infantry regiments has allowed a quick wheel into the flank.

Adding insult to injury, St Julien cavalry get into the rear! The melee result was inevitable and Infanterie Marzen, finding itself surrounded, promptly laid down its arms in surrender.

Meanwhile, on the opposite flank... Grenadiere Oettinger moves forward to counter the St Julien move on the town. Unfortunately, this came too late to prevent (or even affect) the collapse of the KaiserReich right flank.

The KaiserReich force has retreated northward, licking its wounds. Fortunately, all the army's guns were brought from the field. El Duque must now decide whether to press his advantage or turn his army about to deal with the sea-borne landing of another KasierReich force in the north of St Julien.